The Bucket List
by damnitnikki
Summary: Deeks decides to scratch one thing off Kensi's bucket list.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi, guys. I'm back. This is a story that I've had in my head for awhile. This isn't connected to the show's storyline in anyway, it's totally random. So, no torture, no PTSD, none of that. It ****_is _****a love story though. (You see what I did there?) Anyway, enjoy. -NZ**

* * *

He didn't mean to see it. It was an accident.

But, accidents happen for a reason, right?

He was just walking to his desk when he brushed past hers and a piece of paper fell. She kept it so messy, it wasn't a surprise. "Sorry," he said. "Kensi, you should really clean up a bit."

"Yeah, I'll get to it later, Deeks. Can you just put it down?" she said, not looking up from her screen.

He was going what she said and move on, but something caught his eye. "Kensi…you have a bucket list?"

Her head snapped up and her eyes widened. "Deeks, give it back," she said as she reached up to snatch it out of his hands. Deeks deftly swerved to the left and gripped the paper. Kensi quickly followed him, trying and failing multiple times to recover the list.

"Wow. This is a _really _boring bucket list. Where's 'jump off a mountain' and 'have sex on a beach'?"

"I've already done that."

"Which one?" Deeks asked suddenly.

Kensi smirked and didn't answer, which made it worse. She tried to catch him off guard, but he was ready for anything. He continued to read it until, finally, Kensi punched him in the arm, forcing him to release his grip on the paper and she snatched it up, sending him a cold glare.

"Boundaries, Deeks. _Boundaries_."

He scoffed, knowing that there were only a few boundaries that they haven't crossed in their partnership. And Deeks didn't want to open that door right now. Kensi sat back down at her desk with a huff and folded the piece of paper before putting it in the very back of the desk.

He quirked a smile and went to his desk without another word.

The day was slow, so the team did paperwork, which bored Deeks out of his mind. He tried to pay attention to Sam and Callen's debate on who the best Bond was, but all he could think about was the thing that happened earlier.

Deeks looked up at his partner. She was chewing her finger while scribbling down notes in a file, which he couldn't help but find adorable.

He only got up to make a quick phone call and then went back to his desk.

"Where were you?" Kensi asked.

"I had to make a phone call," he said simply.

"To who?"

"A friend."

Callen looked at the two of them. "He's probably making sure a date's still on for tonight, Kensi. That she hasn't had a stroke of better judgment and backed out."

"No, he doesn't have a date," Kensi said confidently.

"How would you know?" Sam asked her.

"Yeah, how would you know?" Deeks repeated, trying—and failing—to hide his grin.

"I-I-I would know because you would've bragged about having a date all day, which you haven't." she recovered quickly.

"She has a point," Callen agreed. "If you had plans with a girl tonight, Deeks, we would hear _all_ about it."

"I do have plans tonight, guys."

"You do?" Kensi asked, shocked. And hurt. Friday nights were their night. Beers, pizza, and a movie. It was a constant thing. And now, he was telling her last minute he had to cancel?

She had no idea.

"I do."

"Why haven't you talked all of our ears off about it?"

"I wanted to see if Connery won."

"Never," Callen said.

"He's a classic, G!" Sam shot back.

"Have you seen what Craig's done with the role? Genius."

The two of them continued like that, the Deeks Date conversation forgotten. Deeks smiled. God, he was good. He went back to his files, but not before he saw Kensi looking at him, confusion and disappointment apparent on her face.

It was suddenly five o'clock and everyone was packing up. Callen and Sam left together, still having the "Connery v. Craig" debate, only giving a small nod to the junior agent and the cop as a goodbye.

Deeks swayed in his chair before grabbing his bag and went over to Kensi.

"So, I'll be at your house around seven?"

"I thought you had a date," Kensi said, not even bothering to hide the bitterness in her voice.

"Wear something nice," he said, avoiding the question. "Like, a dress."

"Deeks…" Kensi started.

"Kens, just trust me, okay? Please? I'm your partner, I've got your back, alright?" Before she could ask any more questions, he walked out of the bullpen and the mission and quickly made it to his car.


	2. Chapter 2

He was at her place at seven. When he knocked, she opened the door, looking pissed. _Pissed and in a dress, _he thought. _Just how I like 'em._ He smiled and her scowl went deeper.

"Is this alright?" she asked, motioning to her dress violently.

"It's perfect."

"Can I know what's going on now?"

"Nope."

"Deeks."

"Kens, I have saved your life multiple times. I'm not going to take you anywhere dangerous. What a waste of a good partner and hard work."

She clicked her tongue and shut the door behind her before she stalked to his car, leaving him behind. He shook his head and ran after her.

_This is going to be fun_.

He settled into the driver's seat before holding a piece of black cloth in front of her. "You have to wear this."

Kensi looked at him. "Seriously?"

"Mmhmm."

"No."

"Yes."

"Deeks."

"Kensi."

She studied his face before she grabbed the cloth with a huff. "Unbelievable," he heard her mutter as she was adjusting it over eyes. He smiled.

"You good?"

"Yes."

Deeks waved hand in front of her to test it out. Satisfied, he started the engine.

He dodged every one of her questions in the car ride until they came to the destination. He reached behind her and tugged the blindfold loose. "Here we are," he said. "Finally. I thought I would have to shoot you."

She glared at him. "You're lucky that _I _don't shoot _you_. Where are we?"

"Look for yourself."

She peered out the window. Her head whipped around to face him. "Deeks, what are we doing here?" He just smiled and drove up to a sign that said VALET. After he stepped out and handed the keys to a kid in a vest. He raced around to her side of the car and opened the door.

"Milady."

"Thanks," she said and rolled her eyes, though Deeks could see that she was fighting a flush.

He offered her his arm and she took it, faux-begrudgingly. They walked through the doors of the modern looking building. A woman in a dark blue jacket with the nametag "Barb" approached them with a huge smile. She looked at Deeks and then Kensi, smile never wavering. "Mr. and Mrs. Deeks?"

"That's us," Deeks said quickly, not looking at his partner, knowing that she would be mortified to be mistaken for his wife.

"Follow me," Barb said cheerily.

They followed Barb down a carpeted hallway and up a flight of stairs. Deeks felt Kensi's grip tightened on his arm. "Where are we going?" she whispered in his ear.

"You'll see, wifey," he whispered back. The pinch he got was worth it.

Barb stopped when they were in front of curtains. "Enjoy the show."

Kensi watched in confusion as Barb retreated. She turned to him. "Okay, I get where we are but, where are we?"

He chuckled as he walked up and pulled back the curtain. He watched it register and Kensi's mouth dropped. "Deeks…I…"

"I know it's not Broadway, but it's the best I could do short notice."

"It's a box."

"Boxes _do _seem to come up with us a lot, huh?"

"They're box seats."

"C'mon, Fern," he said, grabbing her hand in his, "or you're just going to stand there all night and miss the show."

He led her to a nice, red, velvet seat. She peered over the edge and could see the stage. "Oh, my God."

"You don't have a fear of heights, do you?" She gave him a look. "Just covering all my bases."

"Deeks," she said, an obvious question on her mind.

"Hmm?"

"How did you do this?" Kensi asked. "Are you some sort of secret millionaire?"

He laughed. "No. I wish. That would be awesome. No, no. A buddy of mine from law school owes me a favor."

"The phone call."

"The phone call," he nodded. He didn't mention that when he asked for this, Kirk told him, "She must be really special, Marty." He also didn't mention that he told him that she was.

"You did this because you read my bucket list?" He nodded again. "Why?"

"I was getting tired of _Top Model_."

"Seriously?"

He bit his lip. _Why is she so smart, yet so oblivious?_ "In our profession, we don't know what day is going to be our last. No one does, but we tend to have higher stakes than normal people. And the fact that you have a bucket list that you have yet to finish is…well, sad."

"I'm always working. I don't have time."

"And you never will. Unless you _make_ time. Which is what this is."

Kensi didn't get to reply to that because the lights were lowering and the show was starting. Deeks watched his partner's face as the first scene played out. He could see that she was in awe. He never really saw Kensi Blye's guard down in public and it was pretty amazing. Her eyes lit up and her mouth shaped a small smile. Her whole body was relaxed and Deeks couldn't help but stare.

Throughout the show, he would glance at her to gauge her reaction. He wanted her to enjoy her first musical; he wanted to make it perfect.

The love song came around and it took all he had not to look at her, until he felt a pair of eyes on him. He turned to find his eyes locked with hers. He fully expected her to immediately turn her gaze back to the stage, but she had that coy little smile on her face—the one she got when she was thinking about something. Then, that smile turned into a smirk and she focused her attention back to the stage.

He smiled to himself. Because that was Kensi. He could never figure her out, but he always wanted to know what she was about. Not that that made any sense.

When the curtain went down and the actors took their bows, the two partners stayed still for a moment, watching the rest of the audience file out of the auditorium below.

"Thanks, Deeks," Kensi said, breaking the comfortable silence they had created. "It was amazing."

"You're welcome, partner."

Kensi stood and ran her fingers across the edge of the box. "I've got to let it soak in, lock it in my memory, y'know? Don't really know when I'm going to do this again."

"What, sit in box seats?"

"See a show."

He didn't say anything to that.

She smiled at him and took his hand. "Thanks for this," she blushed; his heart thumped harder. "I already said that."

"I like it more and more every time you say it." He held his arm out and she took it and they walked down the hallway. They broke away when Deeks went to find the valet, leaving Kensi near the doors.

She turned when she felt a hand tapping her shoulder. Barb was there, smiling. "Did you enjoy the show, Mrs. Deeks?"

_Just go with it._

"Yes, it was amazing."

Barb looked in the direction that her partner walked from. "I can always tell the ones that are in love. It's all in the eyes." Barb's smile went even wider, if that was possible, and she walked over to the bottom of the stairs, helping other patrons.

Deeks came and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Ready?" he asked. Kensi nodded, staring into his eyes. "What?"

Kensi shook her head quickly. "Nothing. Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

Deeks glanced over at her in the passenger seat. She was staring out the window and humming. He smiled. She was humming the love song subconsciously.

"So," he started. "There's something I still don't get."

"What is that?"

"I never pictured you as the theatre-going type. Wrestling or monster trucks, sure, but not theatre. Especially not _musical _theatre."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Deeks."

"You and I both know that's not true."

She sighed. "My mother always wanted us to go to a musical as a family. Just once. I think she was hoping that I would fall in love with it and get off the whole tomboy thing."

"What happened?"

He watched as she ran her fingers through her hair. "My dad," she said, letting out a long breath. "He was always called away for his job. My mom didn't think it was going to be the same if he wasn't there. I guess, looking back, she was trying to keep us together in some way. Of course, I didn't see it like that. I thought she was trying to keep him from saving the world."

"So, you never did go see a musical?"

"We almost did. It was _Annie Get Your Gun_. As we were walking out the door, Dad's phone rang. I can still see Mom's face. She just put down her keys and walked back up the stairs."

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"Not your fault, Deeks. Not anyone's fault, really."

"Should I have let you take your mom?"

She looked at him. "No, no. This was…this was perfect."

He looked back at her. It was more like staring, actually. God, she was amazing and she didn't even know it and it drove him insane, _she _drove him insane and—

He was so far gone, he didn't even see the way back.

She chuckled and brought him back to reality. "What?"

"Nothing. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"You're such a Fiyero."

"Excuse me?"

"The whole dancing-through-life, only-dating-pretty-blondes."

"I've dated pretty brunettes. And a really sexy redhead."

"I'm just saying. The comparisons are there."

"Yeah, well. He changes when he meets Elphaba."

He could feel the air in the car change and for a split second, he wished he just kept his mouth shut. But, he couldn't. "I mean, she's smart and she's funny—even if she doesn't know it—and she never let anyone in, never let anyone close. Why is that?"

The question hung in the air for an excruciating moment. He heard his partner say, in a low voice. "She let him in." Then, she turned back to the window.

Deeks attempted to swallow the small smile that formed on his lips, but failed.

* * *

When Deeks parked in front of Kensi's apartment, he cleared his throat, pushing away the disappointing feeling that the night was ending. _You'll see her on Monday, idiot. Why are you acting like a baby?_

"Uh…" he started.

"I had a really nice time tonight, Deeks."

He laughed. He couldn't help it.

"What?" she said, her face contorted in confusion.

"That's kinda what you say after a date."

She scoffed. "Whatever."

"You're doing it again."

She looked at him and rolled her eyes, but he saw how her eyes widened a bit before. She opened her door and got out. Deeks opened his own and ran around his car to be next to her.

"What are you doing?"

"What I always do. Walking you to your door. The night's not over yet."

Kensi bit her lip, but let it go.

She got to her door and turned her key in the lock. Before she went in, she faced him. "Was this a date?"

Deeks' heartbeat skyrocketed. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Do you want it to be?"

"Deeks."

He couldn't feel his fingers. His mouth was suddenly dry, his lips were chapped. "I, uh." He saw the way she took a breath and stepped back, the look in her eyes. She put her hand on the doorknob.

He was not going to blow this.

Before he could fully process it, Deeks held Kensi's face in his hands. Looking into her mismatched eyes, he found the motivation to do the next thing.

The kiss was gentle. It wasn't rushed and impulsive. The two of them just stood there, breathing each other in. Kensi's hands found their way around his neck, his went to her hips.

When they pulled apart, Kensi looked up at him, smiling. "So."

"So."

"We should do this again sometime. Maybe scratch something else of my list."

"What would that be?"

She grinned roguishly. "You'll see." Before he could answer, she opened the door. "Goodnight, Deeks."

She kissed him one more time before stepping over her threshold and closing the door.

"Night, Princess," Deeks said softly to the closed door. He heard the lock clicking and he walked back to his car, the smile on his face growing with each step.

* * *

He was there before her on Monday morning. She acted routinely, saying hello as she set her bag down on her desk, but it didn't escape his notice that her iPod was blaring the _Wicked _soundtrack.


End file.
